What Every Woman Needs to Know About Retirement Savings

There are a lot of ways that men and women differ, but we bet there’s one you might not guess right off the bat.

Retirement.

Yes, retirement. According to a January 2012 study by
Ameriprise Financial
, more men than women have determined how much money they’ll need to retire, have set aside money in their investments for retirement, and feel confident that they’ll reach their goals.

In fact, a
2010 study
found that 92% of women don’t feel educated enough to reach their retirement savings goals, but that 56% of them want to be.

Luckily, financial education is our specialty.

We spoke with Stephany Kirkpatrick, CFP®, AIF®, LearnVest Financial Planner in Residence, and former Director of Retirement Planning at Pension Architects to figure out why women have such a hard time with retirement saving—and how you can get on track.

It’s in the Numbers

Women face some challenges that are purely logistical, like the simple fact that they live longer than men. Today, the average American white male can expect to live
76.2 years
, whereas the average American white female can look forward to 80.9 years.

So, if a man and a woman both retire at age 67 (the traditional retirement age of 65 is quickly becoming outdated), a man needs to support himself for a little over nine years; a woman, nearly 14. Let’s say our hypothetical man and woman each earned $70,000 per year when working. Keeping in mind that a person needs at least 70% of her income to support herself for each year of retirement, the woman needs at least $280,000 more than the man to float her retirement.

Plus, Stephany points out that many women take time out of the workforce to focus on their families—or opt not to work at all—which means they’re automatically operating at a loss when it comes to money earned. It’s likely that their retirement accounts will reflect this.

It’s Also in the Mind

“Traditionally, women have felt more intimidated by investing than men have,” Stephany explains. “They want to learn, but they lack the initial knowledge and confidence to get them started early in life.”

Or, as one of our
recent makeover winners
, who hadn’t begun saving for retirement, put it: “I always used to think so big picture, like—Figure Out Retirement.” Her fear meant, despite earning a good salary, she felt paralyzed by the prospect and never got started. “That’s not really a meaningful way to look at things,” she says, “and I’m learning that.”

Also, many young women today have parents who were raised in the 50s, when Dad managed the family finances and Mom let him. Fewer daughters have role models to teach them about money than sons do. Consequently, neither do their granddaughters. “Then we aren’t taught personal finance in high school and usually not in college, so where do we learn? Who do we turn to?” Stephany asks. (Points if you put the answer in the comments!)

You Aren’t Doomed

Female-specific retirement issues are
well-documented
, but if the biggest issue facing women is getting started—in order to save more—there are solutions. In fact, Stephany’s small steps are all you need to ace your retirement plan.

If You Aren’t Saving

Open a retirement account today. No, really. Today. Nothing impacts your money more than time, which gives your portfolio a chance to grow and expand–and enables you to take on riskier but higher-return investments because you have a longer time horizon to mediate the risk. This is as easy as:

2. Going to a brokerage such as Vanguard, Charles Schwab, or Merrill Lynch, for example, and following the instructions for opening an IRA. To find out what this process involves, read our
intern’s account
.

As for which type of account is right for you, skip right to
Day 13
of LearnVest’s Personal Finance Bootcamp, and see the impact every extra year has on your savings in our
Early Bird calculator
.

If You Are Saving

Step it up. Increase the contribution to your retirement account by 1% every quarter. If your finances are especially tight, make it twice per year. For many of us, 1% is about $20-$50 per paycheck, and won’t be missed too sorely if we set up an automatic contribution. After four quarterly increases of 1%, you’ll have increased your contributions by 4%. If you’re already maxing out your retirement plans (the contribution limit is $5,000 per year for an IRA, and $17,000 for a 401(k) in 2012), you’re already on the right track—which gives you freedom to focus on other savings goals, like buying a home or going on vacation.

Either Way

Run your numbers. The
ING Retirement Needs
calculator asks for your income, current savings, age, and a few more more facts in order to determine how much money you’ll need to finance your retirement, as well as how long the money you have currently saved will last you. "Don’t be overwhelmed by the information,” Stephany says. “Let it show you that retirement needs to be a priority.”

Even if the outputs say you’ve got to save a huge sum of money, the situation may not be as overwhelming as it seems: Putting away a mere $35 per month (about $1.16 per day) could turn into $18,000 in 20 years (calculated using 7% interest).

And, the sooner you get started, the bigger your nest egg will grow.

This article has been republished with permission from our partner,
LearnVest
. For more financial advice that's sound, savvy, and actually fun to read, check out: